Skate clamp



www a A oct. 3, 1950 G, WAL-[0N 2,524,580

SKATE CLAMP?,

Patented Oct. 3, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE i 2,524,580 Y v 'l SKATE CLAMP Y George Walton, Oak Lawn, Ill.

- -Application'september 19J 1945, Serial No. 617,294

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to a skate clamp and more particularly to a clamp for the toe portion of a skate which clamp may be tailored to suit the whims and desires of a particular skater and which constitutes a permanently adjusted clamp for the toe of the shoe.

There are many skaters, among the professionals and exhibitionists, who desire to have their skates removably applicable to their shoes. In this connection such skaters demand that the skates be rmly attached to the shoes while skating.

Many of such skaters prefer to have the clamps for the toe portions of the skates permanently adjusted so that the skates may be quickly applied and removed and when applied be properly clamped to the shoes. g

An object of the present invention isto provide `a skate clamp which maybe permanently ad-v justed to the shoe of a skater ata minimum-expenditure of time on appliction of the clamp, and which is highly eilicient in use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a skate clamp for the toe portion of a skate which may be individually iitted to the shoe l of a skater and permanently adjusted to such shoe and in which the forces tending to separate the endsl of the toe clampare resisted by engagement ofthe clamp with some portion of the skate support, thus relieving the attaching rivets of any stresses in shear.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece member which may be readily applied to a skate for engaging the toe portion of a shoe, and which may be formed to perma* nent shape for receiving such shoe and securing it rmly to the skate.

The above, other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawing.

An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing and the views thereof are as follows:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a shoe with a skate thereto applied, the skate being provided with the novel toe clamp of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan View of the member utilized for the skate clamp of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a fragmental view of the underside of a skate plate, showing the clamp member of the present invention thereto applied and illustrating how the resistance to the tendency of the ends of the clamp to spread is resisted by a structural portion of the skate;

lll

' the toe portion of the Skate.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the heel of a skaters shoe showing an attaching plate threaded in the heel to receive attaching means for the heel to the skate; and

Figure 6 is a vertical sectionalview taken in the plane of line 6 6 of Figure It is to be understood that when a skate 'is equipped with a skate `clamp permanently adjusted to receive the toe end of a shoe, suitable means must be provided for attaching the heel portion of the skate to the heel of the shoe.

The drawing will now be explained. j

The device of the present inventionl is illus;- trated in connection with onetype of a rollr skate, but it is apparent that the device may be used also with various types of ice skates and l 4other types of roller skates, the type chosen being exemplary only. l

Figure 1 illustrates a shoe lilvattachd to a roller skate having. a foot plate Il supported by the usual rollers I2 which are carried in brackets, front bracket I3 and rear bracket i3d. Cushions lll are interposed between the roller axlesand 4the brackets to minimize jar while skating over roughsurfaces and to afford `flexibility of., the lioller mountings.y The` front brackets I3 constitute medianly disposed protuberances 'on the under sides of the foot plates Il. lIhe bracket I3 has an upper rounded portion |31) that slopes upwardly to the rearto flat strap |30. A depending strut i3d of oval cross-section connects the portion |3b to the wheels.

The brackets are suitably reinforced by a strut l5 which co-operating with the brackets constitutes a truss supporting structure for the foot plate Il.

Figure 2 illustrates in planthe one-piece member utilized for forming the skate clamp for The member A is a metal strap, of suitable width, and is notched at I6, at mid-length, and then bent at Il so that the end portions I8 and I9 make a Wide obtuse angle with eachother. Two rivet holes 2Bk are provided for attachment o'f the member A to the underside of the plate Il, as illustrated in Figure 3. v l

Suitable mechanism may be provided for securing the heel portion of the skate to the heel of the shoe. It is to be understood, however, that this attaching means must be such that the skate may be lapplied to the shoe by a straight line pull in the direction of the length of the shoe to cause the skate clamp for the toe portion of the skate to tightly engage the shoe and then secure the heel portion of the skate to the heel without further movement of the skate with respect to the shoe.

The heel attaching means herein disclosed will now be described. Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the heel 2| of the shoe. The heel has a double well bore formed in it, the inner or smaller bore 22 extending into the heel, and the-outer or larger bore 23 is shallow and receives an attaching plate 24 in such manner that the outer surface thereof is flush with the bottom of the heel 2|. The plate 23 .is provided with a slot to receive the head 25 of an attaching means, which head is provided with a cross pin 26. The slot in the plate 24 is shaped to receive the head 25 and the pin 26. The head 25 has a spindle 21 extending through the plate Il of the skate to which is applied a lever 28 for rotating the head 25 to move the pin 26 thereof out of engagement with the slot in the plate 24, when the skate is applied to the shoe, so that the pin 26 will engage the recess side of the plate 23 and lock the heel portion of the skate to the shoe.

After a shoe has been provided with means for attaching the heel thereof to the heel portion of the skate, the shoe is applied to the skate and then the member A is applied to the` under sur- Vface of the front end of the plate H with the notch i6 thereof snugly fitting about the front bracket I3, as illustrated in Figure 3. Rivets 3i) are then passed through the rivet holes 28 in the member A and through suitable holes in the plate Il to attach the member A to the under surface of the plate l I of the skate. The extremities of the portions I8 and i9 of the member A are then bent upwardly and inwardly, as illustrated in Figure 4, to,` provide end members for engaging over the side margins of the toe or the shoe, as shown in Figure 1, and as is customary.

The extremities of the member Aare so shaped that the toe portion of the shoe is tightly gripped by the member A, firmly holding the skate to the shoe.

When a skate is tightly applied to a shoe, stresses are set up tending to separate the ends 29 of the member A, While these stresses are not great, nevertheless they exist. The unitary structure of the clamp'of this invention helps the rivets 39 to resist this tendency to pull the clamp apart. 'Ihe unitary structure, therefore, gives added strength to the clamp.

It is apparent that utilization of the skate clamp member A, of the present invention, lends itself very readily to individual likes of skaters, in having the toe portions of their skates permanently adjusted and when adjusted, firmly fixed against any likelihood of looseness subsequently occurring.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent grantedi hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A skate having a foot plate with a medianly disposed protuberance on its under side, a onepiece toe clamp member across the under side of said plate and having a notch snugly fitting said protuberance and with its ends bent upwardly and inwardly to receive the sole of a shoe and constituting a permanently adjusted toe clamp member, and rivets securing said member to said plate.

2. In combination in a skate, a foot plate, supporting means for said foot plate including a bracket depending from the forward central portion of said foot plate, a one-piece member bent substantially at mid-length as a wide obtuse angle and having its ends turned upwardly and inwardly to receive the toe portion of a shoe to constitute a permanently adjusted toe clamp, said member having a notch for receiving the depending bracket of said Supporting means for centering said member and rivets securing said member to said foot plate.

3. As an article of manufacture, a shoe clamp for a skate, having a sole plate and a bracket depending from the forward central portion of said sole plate, comprising an elongated metal strap having a notched portion substantially at the longitudinal mid-point thereof for receiving the bracket in snug abutting relation for centering the clamp on the skate, the portions of said strap on either side of said notch extending outwardly and forwardly therefrom and having end portions foldable upwardly and inwardly for wedgingly receiving the toe portion of a shoe.

GE ORGE W ALTON REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 5,955 Whelpley June 30, 1874 334,281 Punches Jan. 12, 1886 2,103,737 Tappe Dec. 28, 1937 2,246,153 Wallace June 17, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 54 Great Britain Jan. 6, 1872 19,261 Sweden Apr. 15, 1905 59,870 Germany Feb. 3, 1891 

